While levies and boat ramp tolls were among the suggestions to fund the river’s rehabilitation, many of the groups came to the same conclusion: a single river authority, responsible to a senior minister, is needed to get river management back on track.

It was a suggestion the State’s Minister for Water, Nathan Rees, said he was open to. “I have an entirely open mind on the single authority,” Minister Rees said.

“The difficulty we have to face is this mish-mash of government authorities... of different agencies responsible for different things... and there’s no clear direction.”

The Minister took time out before he addressed the summit, which was held at the Windsor Function Centre, to sit down with one of the groups who were brainstorming the many problems facing the river.

A group of 80 representatives attended the summit, including both private and commercial river users, councillors and staff from Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Hornsby, Hawkesbury and Penrith councils, government and institutional bodies associated with the river and water and local MPs.

Four presentations were made to the summit, including one by Councillor Ted Books who gave a historical perspective; Bill Pierson from the University of NSW Water Research Laboratory, who spoke on environmental flows; Professor Wayne Erskine, University of Newcastle, who addressed the group on water quality, and finally Mr Robert O’Neil from the Department of Water and Energy who spoke on existing water planning initiatives.

Hawkesbury councillors Bob Porter and Christine Paine had a chance to speak to the Minister, while the Catchment Manage-ment Authority’s (CMA) Bill Dixon also took the opportunity to bend Mr Rees’ ear about the river.

Mr Dixon later told the summit that a one cent levy on every kilolitre of water used could raise $5.6 million towards repairing the river.